http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 - England’s professionalism and India’s complacency (Part 2) - Opinion
Firstly, the Poms had the audacity to pitch the ball short on many occasions, which stifled and ruffled the Afghans with deliveries that have historically led to their demise. Not a single batsman from the opposition looked comfortable as a barrage of quick
deliveries were deployed with impunity by Jade Dernbach and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Harold-William-Stephenson-c61707 Finn.
The likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lakshmipathy-Balaji-c72130 on the other hand, leaked runs at a hemorrhaging rate at the start of the Afghan innings and the odds of India losing control over the game did loom high until the spinners were introduced into the attack.
Afghanistan was restricted to 26 for 8 at one stage by England, in contrast to being 24 without loss in just 3 overs against India, where they were galloping at a run rate of 8 runs per over.
No breathing space however, was allowed for the Afghanis in their stint against the English, where tumbling saves and runs being restricted complimented the deliveries which were bowled in the corridor of uncertainty by the Poms’ bowlers. It was not until
the 13th over onwards that Gulbodin Naib managed to put some sort of respectability onto the total but the efforts of the English contingent could not be undermined in any way. The ground fielding, the catching and the seriousness of their encounter
with Afghanistan was visible at the Premadasa.
Comparing their performance with the sub-continent giants, it has to be said that India survived a definite scare. There were reiterated calls over how poor they had been with the ball, which surfaced in their warm-up clash against Pakistan in the lead up
to this tournament. India had lost the plot significantly in their opening game, and had it not been for their spinners, their opponents would have certainly rolled them over. It is a reality that most Indian fans often sideline, but the truth is that the
Indian bowling looks weak, feeble and prone to being peppered hard in this tournament. Pakistan managed to chase down 182 against them at the Premadasa stadium, and recent history has also shown that the Indian bowling could be ripped apart despite their occasional
batting heroics. Their batting lineup has also been prone to collapsing at times and unlike the English who have been far more professional, tactical and astute in their approach, India tends to crack under pressure when their batsmen fail to fire. Stuart
Broad’s men did not break a sweat when they were pitted up against the minnows and played with confidence and maturity.
England are after all, defending champions of the ICC World T20 of 2010, and is bound to pose a threat regardless of them not being billed as favourites as compared to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760. It would be a bold claim to make if one is to consider that
England have the capacity to win this tournament and defend their title and heroics of 2010. Yet after their performance against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Afghanistan-c745, few would dispute the fact that this English side is brewing with confidence, professionalism and have an array of
top quality players at their disposal that could wreak havoc on their oppositions on the given day. They also seem well prepared, focused and ready for the big occasion against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 and in their encounters against the big guns in the Super Eight Stages. In
addition, the fact that the Sri Lankan wickets have provided ample space for seamers to make their mark might just act in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013’s favour, and act to the detriment of teams which could encounter them in the very near future.
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